LeBron on buzzer beater: I live for those moments
Cavaliers superstar sinks buzzer beater to secure 105-103 win
LeBron James banked in a running floater as time expired to cap off a 38-point effort as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Toronto Raptors 105-103 at the Quicken Loans Arena yesterday morning (Singapore time).
Thanks to James' late intervention, the Cavaliers took a commanding 3-0 series lead in the second round of the NBA play-offs.
Kevin Love recorded 21 points and 16 rebounds as fourth-seeded Cleveland defeated Toronto for the ninth straight time during the post-season.
Kyle Korver made four three-pointers while scoring 18 points, George Hill had 12 points and Jeff Green tallied 11 for Cleveland. Kyle Lowry had 27 points and seven assists for the top-seeded Raptors, who are one defeat away from being eliminated by Cleveland in the play-offs for the third straight season.
Sidekick DeMar DeRozan had an off night with just eight points on three-of-12 shooting and didn't play in the final quarter. Game Four of the Eastern Conference semi-final series is in Cleveland tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
On the decisive play, James received the inbound pass with eight seconds left under the opposite basket. He drove the length of the floor, headed slightly to the left of the lane and smoothly kissed the midrange jumper off the glass.
"Tie game, down one or whatever the case may be, I live for those moments," James said.
"Like I told y'all in the Indiana series, that mental clock of being a kid and kind of telling myself, '3, 2, 1' and making the noise of the net, that 'woosh' sound, I've been doing that since I was 6, 7, 8 years old. Maybe even before that."
James added seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in his latest stellar effort.
"It's my job in the fourth (quarter) to close it," James said in a post-game interview with ESPN.
"We could play so much better, but it was a gutsy win."
Toronto recovered from a 17-point, third-quarter deficit to make it a one-possession game. O.G. Anunoby drained a three-pointer to tie it at 103 with eight seconds left before James reached into his extensive bag of tricks.
James opened the second half with a dunk to give Cleveland a 57-40 lead before Toronto answered with 12 consecutive points to move within five.
The Cavaliers again pushed the lead back into the double digits and Love's three-point play made it 73-59 with 3:21 to play.
Love scored nine straight Cleveland points, including two free-throws that accounted for a 77-61 edge.
The Raptors reduced the Cavaliers' advantage to 85-80 with 8:12 left, but James scored the next five points to push the Cleveland lead back to 10 points.
The Raptors went close to levelling at 97-95 with 2:52 remaining, thanks to Anunoby's three-pointer and Lowry's two free-throws, but could not get the better of James and Co.
In yesterday's other second-round play-off game, the Boston Celtics also took a 3-0 series lead with a 101-98 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Game Four is tomorrow morning (Singapore time). - REUTERS
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